DEİK Türkiye-Belarus Business Council President Fatih Işık stated that the resumption of Istanbul-Minsk flights will accelerate commercial contacts. Türkiye ile Belarus arasındaki yaklaşık 2 milyar dolarlık ikili ticaret hacminin 3-4 milyar dolara çıkarılması hedefleniyor.
Fatih Işık, in his evaluation to the Anadolu Agency correspondent, stated that the restarted flights will facilitate mutual visits of business people. Işık said, "Our business people will be able to plan mutual visits more easily, and B2B meetings, factory visits and investment contacts will accelerate." he said.
Stating that Istanbul being an international transfer center increases the economic importance of the flight line, Işık said that passengers from Belarus can reach Türkiye and third countries via Istanbul.
Stating that they went to Minsk with a delegation of approximately 50 business people on the first flight, Işık stated that their priority was to transform this connection into permanent commercial relations and new market opportunities.
Işık noted that they aim to increase mutual trade between Türkiye and Belarus, especially Türkiye's exports to Belarus, and emphasized that product and sector diversity should be improved.
Stating that Belarus has a strong production infrastructure in engines and engine parts, electric buses and public transportation vehicles, machinery and equipment, iron and steel, chemicals and petrochemicals, and timber and forest products, Işık stated that there are cooperation opportunities in various sectors for Turkey.
Stating that they see export opportunities from Türkiye in the automotive sub-industry, machinery and spare parts, energy equipment, electrical-electronics, chemicals and industrial products for production, Işık made the following evaluation:
"Hedefimiz, iki ülkenin üretim kabiliyetlerini tamamlayıcı biçimde buluşturan, dengeli bir ticaret yapısı kurmak."
Stating that Turkish companies can supply Belarus' automotive, heavy vehicle and machinery manufacturers, Işık said that there is also potential for cooperation in the fields of energy, machinery and spare parts, production equipment and construction and construction.
Noting that they want the cooperation not to be limited to product sales only, Işık stated that the options of joint production in Belarus and joint expansion into third country markets are also being evaluated.
Stating that logistics and financing issues were also discussed to develop commercial relations between the two countries, Işık stated that the more effective use of alternative railway lines in addition to the existing routes was discussed with the Belarusian authorities.
Stating that various options are being evaluated to facilitate financing and payment mechanisms, Işık said that Turkish public banks opening branches in Belarus and developing payment channels for the trade of products outside the scope of sanctions are on the agenda. Işık, işlemlerin uluslararası düzenlemelere uygun yürütülmesinin temel yaklaşımları olduğunu vurguladı.
Işık, Belarus'taki Mogilev Serbest Ekonomi Bölgesi'nde yeni üretim yatırımlarına yönelik görüşmeler yaptıklarını da bildirdi.
Stating that they received information and offers about special rental conditions of approximately 1.5 dollars per square meter for Turkish investors to produce with a long-term rental model, Işık noted that price offers, purchasing negotiations and commercial contacts in different sectors continued after the visits to Minsk and Mogilev.
Stating that the current bilateral trade volume between Türkiye and Belarus is approximately 2 billion dollars, Işık said that their goal is to increase this figure to 3-4 billion dollars.
Işık stated that in order to achieve the goal, it is important to increase Türkiye's exports to Belarus, develop product diversity, support joint production projects and facilitate logistics and payment processes.
